Friday, May 23, 2008
Badger State Crowd Out
By Merrill Matthews, Jr.
Filed As: Health Care
In 2007, the Wisconsin legislature enacted Gov. Doyle's expansion of the Medicaid program known as Badgercare Plus. As enacted, the law lifted income caps for children and pregnant women and expanded coverage for childless adults. The program was estimated to enroll 24,000 people in the first 12-18 months. The program has already blown through those caps, with 71,000 people applying for the program.There was broad concern that the program would create significant crowd-out pressures, and many expected a drop in private coverage. These fears appear to have been realized by the enrollment figures, but the problem will likely get worse. Agents are privately reporting that some of their small business clients are looking for ways to exclude dependent coverage from their plans -- knowing the children will be covered in the state plan.
- posted by Merrill Matthews
- 9:18 am
- 0 comment
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